NEWS

Krank’s new downtown 3,700 sq.ft facility will be the engine house of development for the unique online marketplace.Rapidly expanding used equipment trading platform Krank has bolstered its Pakistan-based development team, opening a new technology centre at the heart of the country’s largest city, Karachi. Based in the newly built Fortune Tower commercial complex on Shahrah-e-Faisal, the quickly expanding team in Karachi has already grown to over 20 technologists, who together are crucial to the success in building, designing and running the platform’s complex tech stack. The team consist of Architects, Software Engineers, UI/UX Designers & Developers, QA Specialists, Mobile app Engineers and Project Managers.Krank is a SaaS platform that provides a new way to remarket used and new equipment, meaning customers can easily generate leads, sell more quickly, grow revenues and scale their businesses. With full control over sales data – plus Krank’s built-in analysis and forecasting – users generate actionable insights that can positively influence their buyer’s behaviour.With an abundance of talent, Pakistan is a growing hive of activity for technology development. The Karachi team works across multiple time zones, collaborating with colleagues and clients in Europe and the Americas.“Krank is a complex product and so the addition of a specialist office dedicated to the constant refinement and improvement of the platform will benefit customers as we expand our offering,” says Khurram Mumtaz, the company’s UK-based Chief Technology Officer. “The exciting city of Karachi is a hotspot for tech talent, and an ideal choice to base our technology centre.

Krank, a leading SaaS platform providing innovative solutions for the remarketing of used equipment for the likes of Liebherr and Maxim Cranes, has been awarded ISO 27001 certification. Recognized for being the gold standard of data security, the certification is a global acknowledgment of Krank’s  information security management system (ISMS).  Global technology giants, including Amazon, Google and Microsoft are all certified to ISO 27001, highlighting its elevated status and respect within the sector.  “Receiving ISO 27001 certification is a significant acknowledgment of our continuous efforts to provide secure and reliable services to our clients, customers and partners,” says Mark Turner, Founder and CEO of Krank. “This is another crucial step to growing the business, confirming that Krank is a diligent and responsible technology partner.” Information security ISO 27001 certification is a rigorous international standard that specifies the requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving an information security management system within the context of the organization's overall business risks. It sets forth a risk management process, ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information by applying a risk management process and providing assurance regarding the significant risks. Data security The process to achieving ISO 27001 is demanding, involving a meticulous process that requires organizations to demonstrate adherence to a set of detailed requirements, followed by a third party audit. It comprises of hundreds checks and controls, all aimed at safeguarding data security and integrity. The process is designed to vet and validate that the organization's information security protocols are not only in place and maintained, but are also effective and resilient against the changing landscape of cyber threats. Turner further commented: “Meeting the requirements of ISO 27001 is a substantial undertaking – Krank’s certification is a declaration of our commitment to the platform. It is a critical component in strengthening our services, positioning Krank as a dependable provider, prepared to exceed the expectations of the market’s major players.” 

Global engineering, procurement and construction giant Bechtel chooses Latin American equipment remarketing experts Elebbre to manage major auction of its equipment from mega mines’ expansion and desalination plant construction – all underpinned by the latest auction technology from Krank.“The expansion of the world’s largest copper mine in northern Chile has prompted a renewal of a proportion of the mobile fleet based there, resulting in a surplus of used construction equipment for the mines’ expansion operators. The task of managing the sale of equipment such as dump trucks, boom trucks and cranes for one of the world’s top five construction companies – Bechtel – has fallen to Latin American equipment experts Elebbre. Access to high intent buyersThe sale of the machines is to be by auction with Elebbre adopting the latest online marketplace platform from UK SaaS provider Krank. Using the Krank platform means that Elebbre can manage the entire auction and sale process itself, rather than having to rely on the support of third-party auction houses. The platform connects construction industry peers by providing an innovative solution for building networks and connections, via which new and used equipment can be remarketed. Its platform is being used by major equipment OEMs, rental companies and others with equipment fleets, and gives users access to a network of high-intent buyers, which helps to convert into sales faster, with reduced costs and improved revenues.“The Krank platform has been customized to our needs and provides a seamless trading experience for ourselves as sellers, and for our buyers. It will be a key component in achieving favorable market prices for these assets, maximizing transparency in the negotiation process and accurately valuing assets, via certified inspection methodologies and reporting,” says Elebbre’s Co-Founder and General Manager, Moisés Nunez.“Elebbre has a strong reputation for using the most innovative thinking for the commercialization of equipment in Latin America; combining technology with extensive experience in the mining, agriculture and transport sectors,” says Krank founder and CEO Mark Turner. “It’s therefore no surprise that such a globally respected mining support giant such as Bechtel has entrusted the sale of its equipment to Elebbre. Adding in our platform to this mix allows Elebbre to independently trade heavy equipment under its own brand, run its own timed and live video auctions and facilitate greater customer engagement.”

With major OEM brands embracing Krank’s online marketplace platform to remarket equipment themselves, the task of keeping ahead of the tech curve is no easy matter.When building a business, starting small is usually the way to go. But, as befits a market entrant that likes to rewrite the rules of how things get done, events are taking a rather different turn at Krank. In fact, it didn’t take long for industry giants like Liebherr, Sunstate Equipment and Maxim Crane to recognize the benefits of Krank’s innovative online marketplace, which allows companies to dispose of used equipment fleets using their own branded online marketplaces. So, Krank is starting Big – and intends to stay that way. “Most SaaS [software as a service] platforms initially target smaller firms and build up from there – but we’re doing it the other way round,” says Krank’s Chief Technology Officer, Khurram Mumtaz. “We’ve scaled the platform from the start to meet the needs of major players, which in turn reassures smaller companies to adopt it too. So, there is a ‘gravitational pull’ effect that is helping us penetrate the wider market, now and in the coming years.” Taking control of the sale processKrank has developed an innovative solution for building networks and connections among industry peers, via which new and used equipment can be remarketed. Through smart auctions and data reporting it enables customers to prime their sales funnels via hot lead generation information. As with early adopters like Liebherr, Krank offers a customizable high-tech platform that allows users to take control of the sales process and independently trade equipment under their own brands digitally. This has a number of economic and sustainability advantages beyond the usual routes, which include traditional third-party auctions.Staying on top of the techMumtaz, with more than 20 years’ experience delivering innovation and digital transformation projects for the likes of brands such as Toshiba and L’Oréal, now oversees a team of 15 engineers. His CTO duties are constantly evolving in order to respond to new technical challenges and the needs of the Krank solution. “We’ve been extremely proud to work with the likes of Liebherr and their experience in the industry has been brilliant in terms of informing how we approach our overall product development. But we are aware of the challenges that lie ahead if we are to optimize it for all our clients,” says Mumtaz. “However, we are prepared to meet those challenges – and as a customer focused platform, myself and everyone on the development team at Krank are constantly looking for ways to stay ahead of the game, while remaining focused on security, scalability and stability. Whether that means working on the latest architecture practices, such as micro services and containerization – or predictive analytics, so clients can identify their next sales opportunity.”Tech stack stacks upThis forward planning is set to pay off in terms of harnessing the platform’s potential for adoption by other industries. As Mumtaz points out, marketplaces are essentially similar the world over – people gather to buy and sell – and Krank’s platform can facilitate those interactions and trades. “For example, take the assets’ price tag out of the equation, and the heavy equipment and automotive industries are very similar; sharing the same sort of dealer and customer structure.“But right now, We’re focusing on the heavy equipment industry – there’s so much to scale up here. Where else can you find an industry where the legacy technology has so far to catch up with other sectors? This offers us the opportunity to be pioneers in this space. That said, as advanced as our tech is, there is plenty of scope for us to improve too – embracing AI for instance. We know where we are going and have a fat arrow pathway to the future. We’ve made a strong start, but there is a lot of work to do, and it’s my job to make sure the tech stack stacks up.” 

Delegating responsibility for selling used machines to third party auction houses carries the risk of sub-optimal outcomes. Now, a new breed of online platforms aims to mitigate that risk, empowering companies to remarket equipment themselves using their own auction technology.Imagine you’re a contractor or rental house in the process of recycling your fleet. Or a major OEM with large numbers of used trade-in machines to remarket. (Often made up of competing brands.) You send your well-maintained assets to an unreserved auction – and not only is there a risk of them being snapped up for a fraction of their true worth, but many of them could end up on the other side of town, filling the portfolio gaps of your fiercest rival.Or perhaps you get lucky, offloading an asset at a time of peak demand, with frenzied bidding driving the price sky-high. However, with bidding data locked in the auctioneer’s database, there is no way of tapping into that lucrative market of disappointed bidders for further, future sales.These are just two of the problems peculiar to third party auctions that are persuading equipment sellers to bring remarketing responsibility in-house, thanks to a new breed of online SaaS platforms. UK headquartered Krank is the leading example, used by major equipment OEMs and fleet owners. Krank offers three avenues of disposal – ‘classifieds’, eBay-style 30-day timed auctions, and live auction events. In each, both buyers and sellers enjoy a more rewarding transaction, with far fewer (or even zero) supplementary costs. Convenience – but at a cost“If you're prepared to risk selling at an unreserved auction, it can be a good route for disposal, especially when demand outweighs supply,” says Krank founder Mark Turner. “While there is little doubt that they are quick and efficient ways to raise cash, often they’re a last resort. But if the asset you’re selling isn’t in demand, vendors may be disappointed. It can also grate to know that third party auction companies pride themselves on making money when the market is good – but even more when the market is bad.”Compliance is also a consideration. Competitors acquiring your fleet cheaply, or discovering you’ve inadvertently sold assets to an embargoed country, are both outcomes to be avoided. These are situations that systems such as Krank can prevent by requiring potential bidders to be pre-approved by the vendor, if desired. (Or simply geo-fencing markets and territories to restrict bidders to selected regions.) This then paves the way for inspection or discussing the provenance of a machine.Users of these new platforms can – should, in fact – leverage their customer database to drum up greater interest in their equipment sales. This will draw a larger, prequalified, and interested audience, and avoid the risk of equipment being sold for less than its worth for lack of competition. That said, the unreserved option is available through these platforms – for those items where vendors just want it out of the yard.Priming the sales team for follow-up salesWhile the winners’ data are important, the information about who didn’t win is just as important. “Companies who throw everything into third party auctions are basically rendering their sales teams redundant. If they ran the auctions themselves, the reverse would be true – they would be priming their own sales funnel with red hot leads,” claims Turner.“Let’s say your excavator sells for $50,000. As soon as your auction closes, we send you (and anyone in your team), a notification with a table of all that bidder data, the profiles of the bidders (because they’ve all had to connect and network with you prior to bidding), and the highest prices points their bids reached. That’s not a lead, that’s potentially further pre-baked sales. One of your sales guys can call the second-highest bidder and say: ‘You got close – and we have another asset in the yard you can have – similar condition for a similar price’. Or maybe one bidder dropped out at just $25,000 – that’s potentially a pre-baked rental sale if you’re an equipment rental company: ‘How about you take one for $2,500 a month instead?’”Cutting carbon – and costsThe desire to reduce the time, expense and carbon footprint incurred by the – often unnecessary – transportation of equipment to an onsite auction is another major attraction of systems such as Krank. Transportation to an auction site can reduce profits by up to 30%, after factoring in other fees. “The first crane I ever brokered was in Qatar, to a buyer from Dubai who’s project fab yard was just 1km away from where the seller’s crane was located!” Turner reveals. “Imagine the cost and carbon footprint if we’d delivered that crane to the auction in Jebel Ali, nearly 700km away, and then brought it all the way back again. An extreme example, perhaps, but valid all the same.”Monetizing ‘stuff’These new platforms’ easy functionality also makes it useful for disposing of items rarely seen at traditional auctions. That old bucket that’s been sitting in a corner of the yard for decades, for example, could be sold using Krank’s unreserved price option. “Someone may buy an old bucket from you today, and then come back for the rest of the excavator tomorrow,” Turner half-jokes.Nevertheless, even those small-time one-off buyers and sellers are driving the transformation of, or even disrupting, the used equipment industry, and its established methods of doing business. The ability to scale up is intrinsic to the organic growth of platforms like Krank, and that is driven through the connections and networking of its users, as well as the leveraging of the latest technologies.